Look, I don’t know if vaccines cause autism. Or Guillian-Barre Syndrome. Or seizures. I don’t think they do, but I could be wrong.
Believe me, I like a good conspiracy as much as the next person, and I hate Big Pharma as much as the next person, and I am probably more cynical than most people. And I believe there are plenty of smart, well-educated, equally cynical, equally sane people who have good reason to think vaccinations have harmed their children in a variety of ways. I don’t know if they’re right. I’m not a scientist, I haven’t done the experiments. Maybe they have (they haven’t).
But for me, right and wrong isn’t the point. For me, it comes down to risk.
Even if I believed that vaccines do cause autism or brain damage or ovarian failure – I don’t, but from what I’ve read, some of those things may be possible, at least in small percentages – I’d still vaccinate my son. Because most of the things the anti-vaxxers are afraid of won’t actually kill him, but Polio might. And I’m simply more comfortable with my son’s tiny, possibly fictional odds of potentially contracting something harmful during well-meaning attempts to protect him from fatal diseases than I am with leaving him – and others – exposed to them.
If we skip the vaccine to avoid the risk of side-effects – and my son is lucky enough to escape the measles and the mumps and polio and rubella and diphtheria – simply not immunizing him would still leave others in my community at risk. And I think that’s fucking CRAZY. I don’t want to be responsible for an outbreak. I don’t want my son to be patient zero. I don’t want to be the reason “The Walking Dead” becomes a reality (partially because I don’t want people in real life to find Norman Reedus attractive).
I, being of sound mind and body and with no interest in becoming the new Hitler, think the risks that come with not being vaccinated are too much for me and my family and for the other kids at my son’s school and for my neighborhood and town and society and for future generations and also mankind in general plus any future species that we encounter once we invent hyper-speed. I mean come on, people, get your heads out of your asses you’re endangering all of us just give your kid the shot. GIVE YOUR KID THE SHOT!
Call me naïve, call me crazy, call me Star Lord, but I tend to side with the scientists over Jenny McCarthy. And that’s not an insult; it’s just me playing the odds. Jenny McCarthy is dumb and potentially dangerous. That is an insult. I just don’t trust celebrities or aggrieved parents* as much as I trust doctors, even if they are in the pocket of Big Pharma.
Obviously Big Pharma is evil and apathetic and just wants money regardless of who they hurt – the indiscriminate pain caused by erectile dysfunction ads is evidence enough of their heartlessness – but you don’t really think vaccines are intended to harm people, do you? GM made some major mistakes recently when they didn’t react quickly enough to a deadly flaw in their cars, but that doesn’t mean they designed the cars with the goal of murdering people. At the very least it was their second or third goal, after providing reliable transportation to the paying public and maybe offering stoners a cool place to hotbox. 
I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist, I suck at chemistry, I’m bad at math, I’m barely even an adult. I’m not going to pretend I’ve done all the research or that I’ve read all the research or that I understand any of the research. Like most of us, I read what I can, I try to listen to people who are more knowledgeable than me – while doing my best to stay open-minded – and then I make a judgment call. In this case, I’m gonna go with the professionals.
Maybe in the future we’ll discover the tinfoil hats were right, and that they were all Galileo and we were the Catholic Church, but even if they were, I’d still rather my kid – and yours – be autistic than dead.
That’s why I vaccinated my son.
(*If something actually happened to my son as a result of a vaccination, I don’t think I’d be able to be rational about either side of this argument, and I’d like to say I’d recuse myself before igniting a flame war but I know I wouldn’t be able to and would dive in and get angry and frustrated and mean and that’s why I am trying to be somewhat sympathetic to both sides of this debate.)
You are awesome. That’s all. *fistbump* anyone who thinks autism is worse than death can just fuck right off.
I always enjoy your posts and the pics attached. Appreciate your honesty and point of view. I vaccinated my daughter years ago just because 1 that was what we did, it wasn’t really a question and 2 as the years passed and more information became known I still didn’t want my child in a room or playground full of germs with no protection.
As parents we all must make best choices for our families we can’t just follow the crowd. Thanks for your post 🙂
Wow! Thank you! I spend time online (I’m a blogger that’s my job), and it seems like there is just SO much out there about NOT vaccinating your kids, and it kind of makes me cry. I absolutely agree with you.
When I took my son in for his first shots the doctor started his little sermon on vaccinating, and I held up my hand… ‘stop, I’m on board… you don’t need to convince me, and I’m so sorry you feel you need to try… get the needle, I’ll hold him down’
I am on both sides of the fence here. My older two children did well with all their vaccinations. My youngest at 3.. just got caught up after a severe reaction when he was around 5 or 6 months old. His body fought.. and fought. and then he contracted everything under the sun it seemed. So we went on a delayed.. very very slowly. So I tell people I am wishy washy. I have two SN kiddos (one that’s never had a reaction and one that has) and one kiddo who’s biggest issue is an allergy to penicillin. So Yeah.. I think I’m with you. on Risk. But I can argue it both ways.
That’s not wishy-washy, at all. Delaying because of a legit medical reason is just good common sense. Not vaxxing because of bad science or celebs spouting nonsense, THAT’s being dumb. You’re just looking after your kid, working with your doc, and being a great mom.
The fact you continued them is the key here. I have a child who is having to REDO all immunizations due to stem cell transplant and cancer treatment so this topic is closer to home than I’d like, especially with these deadly diseases coming back into play because people just “opt-out” out of ignorance.
Hope your child is doing well. My sympathy to you.
It makes me crazy to listen to semi educated nut jobs, er parents try to explain the scientific reasons why vaccines are dangerous or don’t work.
Those are the same fools who think you can become a brain surgeon by spending three months reading books and training using the game Operation.
Vaccinating makes sense for the overwhelming majority of people, plain and simple.
Thank you for the post. With so many people against vaccination, I am glad that am not alone by deciding it the other way around
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Kitty- Your son who reacted to the vaccine is the reason other children need to be vaccinated, herd immunity. Those who choose not to vaccinate their child risk those poor children who can not be vaccinated. If my child couldn’t be vaccinated and became ill because another parent was irresponsible enough to not vaccinate I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to control my actions.
this is one of those catch 22 issues.
the reality is that there is no right or wrong (Really there isn’t)
For the vast majority of parents I agree vaccinating is the RIGHT decision.
However at the same time deriding those who don’t is wrong as well. Because honestly for those parent vaccinating is the WRONG decision.
Some of those parents may actually be swayed by fear mongering and that bothers me. That said some use fear mongering to sway people in favor of vaccines and that bothers me just as bad.
But just because one scientist proves one thing does not make them right.
I hate to discuss Wakefield however take his case for example. While many scientists say his results were never duplicated, the truth is that his results were the duplication of an older research project and those results were duplicated an additional 7 times. He was not attacked based on his results he was attacked based on his statement (vaccines and autism need further study was the actual conclusion) Is he right. I don’t know, there really is so much contradictory scientific proof out there that I Really can not come to a serious conclusion based simply on scientific studies.
Most of my kids have most of their vaccines.
One of my kids has autism, he also has a completely conclusive failed vaccine (chicken pox)
The only conclusion I can draw from my son is this.
Not all vaccines are 100% effective.
There is at least in some children with autism a serious issue with “leaky gut” and the attack on Wakefield has terminated all research into what causes it. This upsets me badly.
Wakefield has been disproven not ONLY because his work wasn’t able to be duplicated (despite NUMEROUS attempts), but also because his original methods were fatally flawed.
The fact is, we simply don’t know, YET, what causes autism. We also don’t know what causes cancer. Or the common cold. Or a myriad of other human disease and disorders. I can’t tell you why I ended up with PTSD, while others who’ve suffered traumas haven’t.
Science is not all-knowing. The collection of human knowledge is still growing. All we can do is go forward on what we do know- and what we DO know, and what has been proven ad nauseum, as that the chances of a vaccination harming a child are infinitesimal compared to the chances of contracting diseases which have been wiped out in much of the civilized world, but still exist in other countries. And the chances of a vaccine harming a child vs the actual disease causing harm? Yeah. That would be why most of us vaccinate.
All that knowledge does not mean that we are taking a cold risk with our kids. We also acknowledge that riding in a vehicle can be dangerous for our kids. So, we strap them into carseats with seatbelts, and we do our research and try to buy cars with the latest safety features… And sometimes accidents happen. And sometimes children are injured. Sometimes they die. And it’s tragic and horrid and awful.
Does that mean we should stop driving?
What it comes down to is, everything carries risk. LIVING carries risks. The vaccination programs have lowered our risks exponentially and it’s foolish to attack them based on outdated data, horridly flawed science, and fear of risk that we should all be acknowledging, but not allowing to run our lives.
Not to mention, Wakefield was paid a ton of moolah to fabricate some of the details of his work, if I remember correctly.
What I don’t understand is, for the families of children with autism( and believe vacs were the cause) , why do you continue to not vaccinate ? Hasn’t the worst happened? I know autistic kids and I can only imagine how awful it would be if they also had to deal with mumps, measles or chickenpox. Yikes!
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My wife and I made the decision to not vaccinate our son after doing tons of science-backed research. I find there is so much intense criticism of decisions like ours, but I’m not hating on you for deciding to vaccinate your son. That’s your choice, and I respect that. That is a decision to be left up to each individual parent.
Hey Kaytaa my kid has autism and I’m NOT anti vaccination so go fuck yourself.
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What I find most awful about the vaxx/antivaxx stuff is the horrible attitude people have to each other. I don’t care what side people are on. Don’t treat another person like garbage because you think their opinion/research/whatever they did to come to the conclusion they did is garbage. I have had people tell me I should be in jail and have my kids taken from me for my decision. Who treats another like that? Only assholes. That’s why I don’t talk about it and so many other people don’t. If there are people who will actually discuss with an open mind and a willingness to be wrong about the whole damn thing then I can participate, but that hasn’t really happened yet.
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So so happy that my kids are not vaccinated and that I do not have the mentality or mindset of those commenting on this very pathetic blog. Just because it did not happen to you (yet, or if you’re so blind you refuse to acknowledge injury) doesn’t mean you are avoiding it. I feel for your kids and would never wish anything negative on people but goodness I hope you actually open your eyes and look around someday. Hopefully to non science abuse literature and non pharmacy funded textbooks.
You know… in Spain my kid won’t be allowed into any nursery/school if he isn’t vaccinated. Those who think “other kids aren’t my problem” are monsters. The idea of other people not caring about my son’s life makes me sick. I care about my son and I care about his little classmates, and it’s not about selflessness. It’s just common sense, because I expect the same from the other parents.
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You know, the ignorant, knee-jerk, overly defensive post you quoted above, you know the one, the “don’t like it get the fuck out” well thought out, intelligent, well researched and eloquent reply, crafted by a paying member of the Tin Foil Hat And Flat Earth Society inspired a gut feeling in me. The feeling that the individuals that choose to ignore the millions of deaths from polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, rubella, and measles, as being a plot by Big Pharma to destroy our children and decimate the population for…wait. For what? Fewer people alive to buy their drugs? Let that simmer a minute.
Simmer while I inquire as to what does that fucking moron think it does to the herd immunity when somehow they think that their breast fed super kids are going to magically be impervious to dying a horrible death, suffocating slowly from diphtheria? Or surviving blind and brain damaged from measles? There are so many more “happy” outcomes achieved by protecting your children from the very vaccines that will keep them happy, healthy and ALIVE till adulthood.
What of the herd immunity I mentioned? Are the most vulnerable in our society to “get the fuck out” because their lives depend on YOUR children not catching and spreading deadly diseases that THEY have no defense against, through no fault of theirs? The newborns who are not old enough to have any defenses against these diseases YOUR kid is getting and passing on because of no vaxes, the preemies and very sick babies and children who can’t be protected, the people with cancer, whose immune system is destroyed by chemo, the organ transplant patients who can never stop the drugs that destroy their immune systems? Or people like me, lupus and RA, on a battery of powerful immune suppressants who will never be able to stop these drugs? All the people mentioned, they can’t get vaxed because believe me if we could, we would. We have zero protection against people like the writer of the post’s kids.
These ignorant individuals who still swear by the autism and vax connection, made by a doctor who was proven to have made that “result” from fraudulent, non existent research, who did it for the money and fame but there was no basis in truth? The doctor who was stripped of all his licenses and credentials to practice because everything he claimed he “discovered” was a lie and a fraud? Tell you what, WE are not the ones who need to “get the fuck out” it is the people who don’t give two shits what hPpens to anyone including their own kids.
I will now step down from my flaming soapbox. Can anyone tell this is a hot button for me?
the bullshit on Katy wilkins post is real. lol. wow she lost of me at ‘you know..’ lol. boring and stupid as fuck.
gonna leave with a very honest note. this website is bullshit, his instagram is boring as fuck. his memes are not funny or humorous . i dont understand why he even has followers.your posts are seriously lame. do they just give websites to anybody theses days. omg
To each his own. My husband and I decided to have all our children vaccinated completely. We are afraid to take risks because the world now is “contaminated” and virus is everywhere. Thanks for sharing.
I just got flu shots for my kids last week. 2 hours afterwards, my 5 year old got a super high fever that stretched into the night and followed into the next day. But by the afternoon, he was back to his normal self. I felt so bad that he got a reaction to the shot, but I also would much rather him have a fever for 2 days, than have the full blown flu that kills people every year. As parents, we all want to keep our kids safe. Vaccinations can sometimes cause some side-effects, but it’s nothing compared to death. It amazes me how some people can be so dumb when we have all the science to prove vaccinations save lives.
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